Daily Schmankerl: Erling Haaland and Manchester City ruin Project 2026 for Bayern Munich; Leroy Sané to Premier League?; Borussia Dortmund selling Gio Reyna, Karim Adeyemi, but buying Marcus Rashford?; and MORE!

Well, pour one out for #Project2026 as the centerpiece of that plan — Manchester City star Erling Haaland — has inked a nine-year extension with the club, which likely makes him unattainable for Bayern Munich:

OFFICIAL: Erling Haaland signs new 9.5 year deal at Man City until June 2034.

“I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great Club. Manchester City is a special Club, full of fantastic people with amazing supporters and it’s the type of environment that helps bring the best out of everybody. I also want to thank Pep, his coaching staff, my teammates and everyone at the Club as they have all helped me so much in the past couple of years. They have made this such a special place to be and now I am City no matter what. I want to keep developing, keep working to get better and look to do my best to try and help us achieve more success going forward.”

This is devastating news for #Project2026 supporters. Sadly, we could do nothing to stop the steal of another massive talent by deep-pocketed Manchester City.

Shirtless man dressed in bizarre Bayern Munich-themed fake fur headdress: So…what do we do now?

Me: Well, first and foremost, Bayern Munich must still go after Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz as was laid out in the original plan. Second, a new striker must be identified…now. Harry Kane could still exit in 2026…and he assuredly will be gone in 2027 when his contract ends. We need a new target…someone with the size, speed, and skill to be a long-term solution at striker.

Shirtless man dressed in bizarre Bayern Munich-themed fake fur headdress: But…who?

Me: Šeško, my boy. RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Šeško.

Shirtless man dressed in bizarre Bayern Munich-themed fake fur headdress: Will he even be available by then?

Me: Probably not…but if we organize, we can lead this movement into the future. So…stand back and stand by! Uh…wait a second. How about we just sit tight until some things play out for this season? In the summer of 2025, plans will be finalized…then we move!

Chelsea FC and Napoli are monitoring Borussia Dortmund star Karim Adeyemi:

✅ Chelsea is still in Talks to sign Karim Adeyemi (22) in Summer from @BVB Dortmund (contract til 2027)

❇️ @sscnapoli is interested for a Transfer this Winter, but Dortmund would demand a high fee. a deal is rather unlikely

@BILD_Sport @YannickHueber

Bayern Munich is hosting a resurgent VfL Wolfsburg side for a Bundesliga showdown with a squad that has simply not gotten on track during this campaign.

Bayern Munich will be looking to win its third consecutive game to start the second half and fourth straight overall. Let’s talk about all of that and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show. This is what we have on tap:

• A look at the recent form of each team and where they fall in the Bundesliga table.
• A look at the rosters and injuries for Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich.
• Why Bayern Munich should be wary.
• A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
• A prediction on the match.

Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané will be a free agent this summer and if the Bavarians are reluctant to ink him to a new deal, the winger will reportedly have suitors from the Premier League:

Leroy Sané has interested parties from England, but no offers have been received yet. In order to stay, he could offer Bayern a concession in terms of both salary and contract duration.

I basically comes down to a few things for Sané’s future with Bayern Munich:

• Performing and producing enough in the second half of the season to convince Bayern Munich to keep him.
• Willingness to take a pay cut.
• A blockbuster proposal from another club that would sway him to uproot his family.

AC Milan is interested in Borussia Dortmund attacker Gio Reyna:

⚫️ AC Milan are exploring a deal to sign Giovanni #Reyna!

A meeting took place on Wednesday evening in Düsseldorf between #Milan officials and representatives of Reyna.

The 22-y/o attacking midfielder is under contract with Dortmund until 2026. #BVB

Bayern Munich is fresh off a 5-0 stomping of Hoffenheim, but the club could be facing bigger battles in the boardroom than on the pitch these days.

Let’s talk about it all. This is what we have on tap for this episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:

• Here comes the winger surge — and how about Mathys Tel making some progress?
• Let’s talk about Bayern Munich’s rumored signing of Tom Bischof. What it means, what about the timing, and how likely is it that the deal is already fully done?
• Is Jonas Urbig the next one? Bayern Munich might have its limits in how good it feels about the FC Köln goalkeeper.
• What’s going on with Alphonso Davies?
• Should we make anything out of the Ousmane Diomande rumors?

Borussia Dortmund is keeping tabs on Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford. If the club loses Karim Adeyemi or Gio Reyna, could BVB really splurge on Rashford? Maybe:

⤵️⚫️ As exclusively revealed this week: Borussia Dortmund are trying to sign Marcus #Rashford ✔️

… as the topic has gained momentum in recent days, especially after the defeat on Friday. It’s a very complicated situation. AC Milan are determined to sign Rashford, but #BVB are also in the race.

Arsenal FC is set to make a final decision on whether or not it will pursue Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović:

Arsenal will decide this week whether they’ll make a concrete proposal for Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović, TeamTALK reports. The Gunners are still “gathering information” on the Serbia international, who has scored seven goals in 16 Serie A games this season despite not being fancied by manager Thiago Motta. As things stand, Arsenal are the only club with strong interest in the 24-year-old, as he remains their No. 1 attacking target for the winter transfer window.

Midweek Bundesliga action means Marcus goes over the games one by one without any pre-show notes! Delivering his analysis acapella-style through the Matchday 17 action, using only the limited ball knowledge he has in his head!

As a result, this episode discusses:

• Why Erik ten Hag to Borussia Dortmund might be a good idea.
• Holstein Kiel: The warriors from the North!
• Marcus’ love letter to the beautiful football club that is VfL Bochum.
• Why RB Leipzig are not ‘serious people’ …and much more!

FC Barcelona could be ready to part ways with prized prospect Ansu Fati:

Barcelona forward Ansu Fati could depart this month, with West Ham and Tottenham interested, according to Sport. Fati, 22, was once tipped as the heir to Lionel Messi when he broke into the first team as a teenager, but injuries have limited his development and he spent last season on loan at Brighton where he played 27 times and scored four goals. Barcelona’s financial situation means they are keen to raise funds through player exits, and Fati could be one who leaves.

Manchester United could be ready to sell off a good chunk of its roster:

Manchester United would consider offers to sign star trio Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund, says The Guardian. Garnacho, 20, has been a key member of the squad for the past few seasons, scoring 13 goals in 76 Premier League games, while Mainoo and Højlund are viewed as key players for the future. However, concerns over the club complying with Profit and Sustainability Rules could see United reluctantly part ways with them. While the trio certainly aren’t being forced out of Old Trafford, they also are not considered “untouchable” by the club’s hierarchy if the right offer does come in.

Bayern Munich were not very hospitable to visiting Hoffenheim.

The Bavarians came out on fire, racked up two early goals and cruised to a 5-0 victory over a Hoffenheim side that is completely off the rails.

Let’s talk about how it all went down and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:

• A look at the starting XI and what was surprising.
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• Bayern Munich came out with a determined look and looked like it knew it needed to get out to a quick start. The Bavarians just dominated.
• What is wrong with Hoffenheim?
• Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.

Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made the move from Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain:

It is easy to see why Omar Marmoush did not have much doubt about wanting to leave Eintracht Frankfurt for Manchester City:

EXCL | Omar #Marmoush will earn approximately €16-17m gross per year at Manchester City, which corresponds to €10m net annually.

At #SGE, his salary was approximately €2m gross.

#MCFC are paying a transfer fee of €75m fixed, plus €5m in bonus payments, as revealed earlier today.